Nigerians in U.S. congratulate Buhari, propose blueprint

The Nigerian community in the United States have congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and others elected during the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Nigerians, through their various organisations, also set agenda for the Buhari’s administration in the next four years.

The Nigerian American Business Forum (NABF), in a statement by its President, Mr Kenneth Shobola, pledged the organisation’s support to the Buhari’s administration.

The forum said with the right investment environment, it had put measures in place to attract an estimated three billion dollars investment into the Nigerian economy in the next three years..

“We would like to pledge our continued support and cooperation to the government and look forward to collaborating in areas of mutual interest in the task of nation building,” the forum said.

The Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians (OAN) and the Nigerian Independence Day Committee (NIDC), in a joint congratulatory letter by Mr Olayinka DanSalami, said Buhari’s re-election was a mandate to continue with his formidable wars against corruption and insecurity, as well as redouble efforts to rebuild the decrepit infrastructure all over Nigeria.

Public GoodThe U.S.-based Nigerian group urged Buhari to defend the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the protection of lives and property and pursuit of the broader public good.

“Your political party’s agendas, special interests, religious affiliations, inter alia, will certainly be competing with the imperatives of equity and the pursuance of the greater good for the majority of our people throughout your new tenure.

“As the Father of the Nation, your administration’s policies, capital projects, and appointments must reflect the rich diversity of our nation both in words and deeds,”the group said.

The group urged the president to make poverty prevention, poverty alleviation, and the promotion of prosperity for all Nigerians topmost on his administration’s agenda in the next four years.

“We are convinced that the massive investments that your administration made in infrastructure, power generation, mining, and agriculture during your first term will start to yield fruits in your second term, resulting in more of our people being moved from penury to prosperity.

“As president of all Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora, we are confident you will continue to protect the interests of all Nigerian citizens wherever we may be on the face of the earth, irrespective of our ethnic, political, and religious affiliations.

“Always remember that will include all those who did not vote for you because they belonged to other political parties or could not vote for you because they were resident abroad and the current electoral laws excluded them from exercising their voting rights.

“As you prepare to continue to address Nigeria’s thorny problems in the next four years, we appeal to you to cast your net wide in search of patriotic Nigerians of impeccable character, skills, and competence.

”We need Nigerians, who will have the best interests of our country and our people at heart, and possess the requisite competencies to assist you to achieve your goals of returning Nigeria to the paths of peace and prosperity.

“In this regard, please endeavour to reach out to reputable Nigerians and Nigerian civic organisations in the diaspora, who have proven track records of performance and know-how and can assist you in achieving your laudable goals for Nigeria.”

Global RemittancesThe organisation noted that Nigerians in the Diaspora sent the largest portion of the $72 billion in remittances to African countries in 2018 with Nigeria being among the top five destinations of global remittances.

“With this huge inflow of money into the Nigeria, we are appealing to you to take as a priority the issue of Diaspora Voting, so that those of us residing outside Nigeria will be able to vote in the 2023 elections and beyond; that is just the right thing to do.”

In its statement, the Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation Americas (NIDOA), USA Chapter, expressed sadness over the people who lost their lives as a result of elections-related incidents since political campaigns began in October 2018, saying “no Nigerian deserves to lose his or her life over elections”.

“We are asking the President to use his last tenure as an opportunity to leave a lasting legacy by ensuring that the millions of Nigerians living outside the shores of the country can exercise their patriotic civic duties in choosing our leaders through Diaspora voting.

“NIDO will continue to work very hard to see that diaspora voting is achieved within the shortest possible time,” the organisation said.

Information Technology HubAlso, the Silicon Valley-Nigeria Economic Development (SV-NED), in a statement by Chief (Mrs) Temitope Ajayi, said Buhari’s victory was well deserved.

SV-NED pledged to work with the Buhari’s administration to make Nigeria the top information technology hub in Africa by facilitating international exposure and opportunities for Nigerian startups.

The organisations also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to work assiduously to correct the lapses reported during the February 23, 2019 election, so that Nigeria could have fairer and freer elections subsequently.